Sustainable Development Goals: Because CO2 concentration drives global climate change, it is indirectly responsible for risks related to the other climate indicators and nearly every single SDG. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions is one of the most effective and necessary climate-related actions for achieving the SDGs, the report stresses.
Explained: Why World Has Last Chance to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals By 2030
New Delhi (ABC Live India); 22 September 2021 (WMO) - If the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved by the 2030 target, the risks posed
by human-induced climate change must be understood and addressed.
The World
Meteorological Organization has published a new report on Climate
Indicators and Sustainable Development: Demonstrating the Interconnections. Its
release coincides with the United Nations General Assembly annual session and
the opening on 22 September of the SDG
Action Zone, which is dedicated to accelerating action on the SDGs.
The aim of the WMO
report is to demonstrate the connections between the global climate and the
SDGs, which go far beyond SDG 13 for climate action. It also champions the
need for greater international collaboration, which is essential for achieving
the SDGs, and for limiting global warming to less than 2 °C or even 1.5 °C by
the end of this century
The report is accompanied by a story map. It highlights seven climate indicators whose impacts span the SDGs:
Carbon dioxide concentration
Temperature
Ocean acidification
Ocean heat content
Sea-ice extent
Glacier mass balance
Sea-level rise.
“In the face of
ongoing climate change, poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation,
understanding the connections between climate and international development is
a matter of urgency,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
“Increasing
temperatures will result in global and regional changes, leading to shifts in
rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons. The intensification of El Niño
events is also generating more droughts and floods,” he said.
“By unpacking the
interconnections between the WMO climate indicators and the SDGs through clear
visual maps, this report aims to contribute to the sustainable development
agenda and to inspire leaders to take bolder climate action,” said Prof.
Taalas.
The report examines
the implications of the latest data and scientific research on the state of the
global climate for sustainable development, to highlight how our climate is
already changing and how the changes will impede the achievement of the SDGs.
Because CO2
concentration drives global climate change, it is indirectly responsible
for risks related to the other climate indicators and nearly every single SDG.
Therefore, reducing carbon emissions is one of the most effective and necessary
climate-related actions for achieving the SDGs, the report stresses.
The levels of
confidence behind each risk identified in the report vary; there is still much
research to be done to address remaining scientific uncertainties. Therefore,
this report should be considered a living document, to be frequently updated
with the most up-to-date climate data and research.
WMO plans to
compile exemplars on the interconnection between climate indicators and SDGs
based on real data in 2021. The methodology in this report will be used to
closely monitor the risks posed by the worsening of these indicators on
achieving the SDGs.
Only 13 of the 17
SDGs are highlighted in the report. Nevertheless, the remaining four have a
role to play: Gender equality (SDG 5) is a critical component of many of the
highlighted risks, particularly relating to health, food security, and water
scarcity. Improved education (SDG 4), global partnerships (SDG 17) and
sustainable consumption (SDG 12) can form part of the solution, mitigating the
risks posed by anthropogenic climate change or helping to stop it entirely.
Understanding the
complexities of climate change and international development is an ongoing
challenge.
“As the
international community becomes increasingly aware of the interconnections
between climate change and sustainable development, more interdisciplinary
partnerships for change can happen, resulting in more sustainable behaviour and
consumption.
It is hoped that this report can serve as a basis for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration, improved policy development, and a stronger commitment to both the SDGs and climate action. Our future depends on it,” concludes the report.
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